1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ice-making apparatus of a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice-making apparatus and an ice-full state sensing device therefor. The ice-making apparatus is installed at a door of a refrigerator and a sensing lever of the apparatus is configured to have a shorter length than the related art lever, whereby an installation volume of the apparatus can be reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator discharges a cold air, which is generated through a refrigerating cycle using a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator, to drop an internal temperature of the refrigerator, thereby refrigerating or cooling foods.
Recently, an automatic ice-making apparatus are further provided in a refrigerator so as for users to be able to enjoy at all desired times.
A refrigerator having the automatic ice-making apparatus mounted on a wall shelf in its freezing chamber so as to freeze an externally-supplied water is widely used. However, in this top-freezer type refrigerator, since an ice-making apparatus is further provided in its freezing chamber narrower than its refrigerating chamber, the freezing chamber becomes further narrower, thereby causing inconvenience in use.
Generally, the automatic ice-making apparatus includes an ice maker for freezing externally-supplied water into ice of a specific size by using a cold air, and an ice bank disposed below the ice maker. The ice is transferred from the ice maker in to the ice bank through an ice-transferring operation, and users can fully enjoy the ice received in the ice bank whenever he wants to enjoy it. That is, even though the users do not want to enjoy ice, the ice-maker is repeatedly operated so that ice of a predetermined amount or more can be received in the ice bank.
In order for a proper amount of ice to be received in the ice bank, it is necessary to terminate the operation of the ice maker through an ice-full state sensing operation when the ice bank is fully filled with ice.
In general, for the ice-full state sensing operation, an ice-full state sensing lever installed at the main body of the ice maker reciprocates in association of the ice-transferring operation of the ice maker. When the reciprocating motion of the lever is interfered with ice received in the ice bank, an ice-full state sensing device determines this state as an ice-full state and terminates the operation of the ice maker.
However, when the ice-full state sensing lever is long, the ice maker needs to become larger, thereby occupying more internal space of the refrigerating chamber.
That is, as the ice-full state sensing lever becomes longer, more space is necessary for the reciprocating operation of the ice-full state sensing lever and an installation space for the ice-making device is undesirably increased.